


I Get By With A Little Help From My Subordinates

by frapandfurious



Series: Kylux Ficlet Medley [10]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Crack, Established Relationship, Everything I Touch Turns to Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Phasma Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 11:18:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8100442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frapandfurious/pseuds/frapandfurious
Summary: Everyone on board the Finalizer can tell that the General doesn't get enough sleep. They decide to take matters into their own hands. What could possibly go wrong?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elfriniol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfriniol/gifts).



> This was thrown together based on [this post](http://mini-mantis.tumblr.com/post/150650921741/headcanon-the-mess-hall-team-on-the-finalizer) and then I lowkey tricked elfriniol into drawing [this art](http://mini-mantis.tumblr.com/post/150691636291/mini-mantis-headcanon-the-mess-hall-team-on).

"Are you sure about this?"

 

"Are you questioning a direct order?"

 

The _Finalizer’_ s cook that day cowered under the gaze of his superior officer and shook his head quickly. The last thing he wanted was to be demoted to sanitation.

 

"Good. Then do it. Before the dark circles under the General's eyes get any darker. Besides, it was the Captain's idea. She's the one who will take the blame if something goes amiss."

 

They both knew that was a lie.

 

The cook anxiously opened the small bottle his boss had handed him and poured a single dose of the liquid into the soup he was stirring. This pot was just for the General, so that no troopers or other officers accidentally received the mild sedative.

 

Desperate times had called for this desperate measure. Everyone knew General Hux was a workaholic but since Starkiller it had reached dangerous levels. Snoke had given him one final chance to prove his worth and he'd been working around the clock to do so, averaging at only around two standard hours of sleep a night, usually at his desk and still half in uniform.

 

His hard work and dedication had been the only thing keeping them afloat for some time now. In the aftermath of the Resistance attack there had been chaos and their General was a beacon of composure and order through it all, at the expense of his own wellbeing. Things were running smoothly, nearly back to normal, but the General had not slowed. Not even Kylo Ren - who everyone knew, but no one dared mention, slipped in and out of Hux's quarters regularly - seemed able to convince him to take a break. At this rate he was going to work himself sick, and the last thing they needed was someone else taking over and disrupting their well-oiled machine. So now it fell to the crew to take matters into their own hands.

 

The plan, courtesy of Captain Phasma, was to wait until what would normally be the General's last meal of the day, right after his final bridge shift ended. He usually took that meal in his quarters before getting his hour or two of sleep and then returning to the bridge.

 

So they would slip a mild sedative into one item and then, hopefully, Hux would stay in his quarters and get some damn sleep.

 

Hopefully.

 

For all they knew he had superhuman abilities and would somehow power through it. At that point their only option would be to appeal to Ren to use his powers. That meant one unlucky trooper being tasked with approaching the Force user and no one wanted that assignment.

 

No, this would work. This had to work.

 

When the General's tray of food was prepared, the cook handed it to the droid and sent it on its way to Hux's quarters.

 

Then they waited.

 

When 2200 hit and the trooper on patrol in Hux’s hallway reported that the General had not emerged, the troops on duty exchanged triumphant nods and fist-bumps, in lieu of cheers, which might wake their commander.

 

When Ren slipped into Hux's quarters at 2300, they fearfully awaited him to discover something was off. When Ren also did not emerge, a collective sigh of relief rippled through the ranks. Perhaps they would both stay there all night.

 

And they did.

 

The next day Hux was a little disgruntled at having slept for nearly nine hours, but was so well rested that his productivity was much improved, and his mood gradually improved as well as the day went on.

 

And so the plan was successful. Almost too good to be true, really, and they agreed not to make it a regular thing, lest the General begin to suspect. Once a week would do, enough to allow their leader to catch up on some much needed rest.

 

By the fourth week the crew was practically giddy at how well this was working out. The General was less stressed, more alert, and suspected nothing.

 

They should have known it couldn't last.

 

That evening Hux decided to eat in the officers' dining room rather than his quarters.

 

As he answered to no one but Snoke, he informed no one but the officer on bridge duty of this change of plans.

 

The cooks prepared his meal as usual and gave the tray to the droid with the usual instruction to bring it to General Hux.

 

The droid, unaware it mattered where Hux received the tray, simply brought it to him in the dining room. A job well done.

 

The droid returned to the kitchen a minute later, much to the staff’s confusion. It took at least twelve minutes to reach the General's quarters from there, even for a droid.

 

"What happened? Did you drop it?"

 

The droid beeped that it has delivered the food as instructed. 

 

"Where?!"

 

The droid motioned in the direction of the smaller room attached to the mess hall and everyone's faces paled considerably.

 

At this hour, only two people occupied the room. General Hux, and Kylo Ren.

 

Shit shit _shit_.

 

The tray was right in front of Hux and though he hadn't taken a bite yet, too focused on the datapad in his hand, if the droid went to take it back he would surely suspect something.

 

There was no choice but to wait and see what happened. Perhaps if the General fell asleep there, Lord Ren would simply blame exhaustion and look into it no further. If they were lucky.

 

*

 

"What are you staring at?"

 

"Aren't you going to eat that?"

 

For the first time since they sat down, Hux looked up at Kylo beside him, helmetless and restless. Then he glanced down at the food in surprise, as if he'd only just noticed it was there.

 

"Oh. Actually, no. I had a supplement a little while ago. Here."

 

He pushed the tray towards Kylo. He'd always been quite the eater but ever since his intense new training regimen had begun, Hux swore the order spent more than ever on food just to fuel the ravenous warrior.

 

Kylo devoured it, ignoring Hux's disgusted looks and requests for him to "chew quietly, for kriff's sake, you're not a wampa."

 

*

 

The crew watched from afar with horror as Lord Ren finished every bite.

 

Yet, to their relief, he didn't seem to have noticed anything unusual about the food.

 

Maybe such a low dose wouldn't even affect a powerful Force user.

 

They could hope, right?

 

A few minutes went by and it looked like, miraculously, the sedative was having no effect.

 

Then Ren's eyes began to droop.

 

That was all they could take. They shuffled back into the kitchen to await their fate.

 

*

 

"Mmm…Hux...I’m tired..." Kylo mumbled.

 

Hux looked up from his datapad, surprised by how thick Kylo's voice suddenly sounded. Beside him, Kylo's head was lowered, his shoulders slumped, his eyes half shut, his mouth a little slack. He blinked slowly at Hux.

 

"Well. Your training has been very strenuous..."

 

Kylo seemed to have lost too much coherence for speech. He slumped sideways, his head dropping onto Hux's shoulder, thick hair tickling his cheek and neck. Hux’s eyes widened and he set down his datapad.

 

"Kylo?" He whispered, "Are you alright?"

 

A small nod confirmed that Kylo was still awake.

 

Hux couldn't help feel a little surge of affection. He made certain that no one else was around then gently stroked at the soft hair. Kylo sighed in approval.

 

"Maybe you should go to your quarters?"

 

A small shake of Kylo's head and a noise that sounded like a childish "mm-mm."

 

"Well you can't use me as a pillow much longer," Hux sounded apologetic, "I need to get back to work soon."

 

This was met by a soft noise of protest that squeezed at Hux's heart.

 

He wished he could give Kylo more of his time and attention.

 

He wished he could give Kylo a lot of things.

 

"Come on, get up, I'll walk you to your room, how about that?"

 

He tried to prop Kylo upright but he was practically deadweight against him.

 

" _Can_ you get up?"

 

Another shake of his head.

 

Hux frowned. He'd never seen Kylo quite so tired. It was clear he wasn't going to budge and Hux knew better than to try to lift him.

 

Thinking quickly, he came to only one possible solution.

 

With a sigh, he commed Phasma.

 

"This is General Hux. I need you to report to the officer's dining room immediately. Just you, no troopers. And have the halls between here and my quarters cleared until further notice. ...that's an order, just do it!"

 

Not five minutes later, Phasma and Hux were supporting a half-asleep Kylo on either side and practically dragging him to Hux's quarters. All the while, Kylo mumbled sleepily into Hux's ear, sweet, embarrassing things that they only said to one another when wrapped up together in the privacy of their quarters. Hux's face turned an alarming shade of red, while Phasma grinned madly, silently behind her helmet.

 

They successfully deposited the knight onto Hux's bed where he fell asleep immediately. Hux dismissed Phasma, but not before making her swear to secrecy, an oath he bought with the promise of extended leave and priority use of all workout facilities.

 

When the door slid shut behind her, Hux looked at the unconscious bundle of black cloth on his bed and sighed, thinking. Once a week for the past month or so he'd been sleeping much longer than he intended. He couldn't figure out why, possibly it was just the long hours of work finally catching up with him. He couldn't explain it but he could admit, to himself, that he'd felt much better recently. Sharper, less irritable. Both his efficiency and his relationship had improved.

 

Perhaps one full night of sleep a week wasn't such a waste of time. Especially if he could spend it with Kylo...yes, that would be more than acceptable.

 

On the other side of the ship, Phasma had called a meeting of everyone involved in the scheme. They all wholeheartedly agreed to never ever tamper with the General's food again. If his sleeping habits, or lack thereof, became an issue again, they'd sit him down and hold an intervention.

 

Little did they know that in his quarters General Hux was changing into standard issue pajamas, crawling into bed behind Kylo Ren, wrapping himself snugly around the warm, large body. They didn't know that he was sleeping soundly and would continue to for at least eight more hours, or that he had mentally scheduled himself to do this same thing next week and the week after that and so on.

 

Perhaps not in the way they planned it, but the _Finalizer_ crew had helped their General after all.

**Author's Note:**

> ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://obsessions-and-dreams.tumblr.com/)


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